Live at the Five Spot [Live]

Amazon.com
Discovery! At the Five Spot documents emerging tenor giant John Coltrane's brief, but eventful six month residency with pianist-composer Thelonious Monk at New York's Five Spot. Monk was reestablishing his stature and drawing power as a jazz innovator while Coltrane grew by leaps and bounds studying Monk's repertoire and learning to navigate his compositions not just rhythmically and harmonically but thematically as well. Monk's melodies were too strong simply to run the changes, and on his extended jaunt Monk's tricky, intricate obstacle course "Trinkle, Tinkle," Coltrane attacks the harmonies with such compulsive power and blissful abandon, that you can hear whole new vistas of sound revealed to the tenor saxophonist. Recorded on a dinky tape machine by Coltrane's wife Naima, the sound is vague, hissy, and distorted--yet vivid and inspiring because on none of the few studio recordings documenting this period do Trane and Monk play with such unrestrained intensity. The mere existence of these tapes far transcends the shaky nature of their "production values." --Chip Stern

Tracks:

Trinkle Tinkle
In Walked Bud
I Mean You
Epistrophy
Crepuscule

Amazon.com

Discovery! At the Five Spot documents emerging tenor giant John Coltrane's brief, but eventful six month residency with pianist-composer Thelonious Monk at New York's Five Spot. Monk was reestablishing his stature and drawing power as a jazz innovator while Coltrane grew by leaps and bounds studying Monk's repertoire and learning to navigate his compositions not just rhythmically and harmonically but thematically as well. Monk's melodies were too strong simply to run the changes, and on his extended jaunt Monk's tricky, intricate obstacle course "Trinkle, Tinkle," Coltrane attacks the harmonies with such compulsive power and blissful abandon, that you can hear whole new vistas of sound revealed to the tenor saxophonist. Recorded on a dinky tape machine by Coltrane's wife Naima, the sound is vague, hissy, and distorted--yet vivid and inspiring because on none of the few studio recordings documenting this period do Trane and Monk play with such unrestrained intensity. The mere existence of these tapes far transcends the shaky nature of their "production values." --Chip Stern

Customer Reviews:

I Mean You!.......2006-06-22

Get this disc for only one thing - Coltrane's insane, hyper-extended solo on "I Mean You!!" And that version of "In Walked Bud" is pretty damn good too!

Too bad it wasn't engineered.......2006-03-20

Great gig for Monk and Trane but quality of recording is very poor since it was mastered with a home tape recorded

Uninhibited Monk/Coltrane brilliance.......2002-10-22

Forget the poor quality recording, just listen to the music. This live concert shows Monk and Coltrane totall uninhibited, free to impose their visions onto the canvas of the music. Coltrane's solos are amazing, especially on 'I mean you'. There's also, among other things, a short and snappy version of 'Epistrophy.'

A fun little journey, and it doesn't sound too bad.......2002-04-11

I see that a lot of folks have been criticizing the sound quality here. When I found this at my public library I hesitated. We've all heard BAD recordings that were put out only to line someone's pockets. In this case, even if the sound quality were terrible, I would still argue for its release. For Coltrane fans especially, this is a rare chance to hear him in one of his least recorded periods. The music is fun and the sound quality is much BETTER than I was expecting. For me, it falls somewhere in between the static of very early 1920's recordings (Louis Armstrong comes to mind) and the house chatter of the classic Bill Evans disc "Sunday at the Village Vanguard." There is crowd noise, but not TOO much, the music is fairly well balanced as far as one microphone recordings go. Monk's piano occasionally comes close to drowning out Coltrane. Considering the circumstances under which it was recorded, I was pleasantly surprised by how listenable this disc is. Keep in mind, if you have not had a lot of experience listening to low-quality recordings or bootlegs, then you may wish to hear this before purchasing it.

Sound Quality.......2000-09-21

This is a sound album, quality quartet arrangements.

Excellent small band versions of "Epistrophy," "Trinkle, Tinkle," and "In Walked Bud." "Epistrophy" is radically different from other versions I have heard.

So what if the sound quality is that of a dirty bar room hurrah. That's what this is!! Not all great jazz can be Columbia quality reissues. I think the mumblings and minor defects in the master tape add to the ambience of the scene. Sort of time and spacey. Wine glasses, clanging...

Tracks:

Number Eight (Potsa Lotsa)
Booker's Waltz

Customer Reviews:

Extra material.......2007-03-26

While anything with Dolphy is worth having in my opinion, this CD contains a couple of extra songs that were left off the Live at the Five Spot sessions. The rhythm section is very prominent in the 2 longs songs. CD only about 30 to 35 minutes. Would have been much better if these were packaged with one of the original CDs, which weren't overly song.

This album Smokes!.......2006-03-24

Two songs, but killer performances by all members. Booker's Waltz has 3 of the most memorable solos I've ever heard.

Essential early sixties Dolphy.......2000-06-16

The Memorial Album, although titled differently, was recorded the same night at the Five Spot club as Dolphy's other two "Live at the Five Spot" albums. Those who have either of the other two albums from that night will find this album essential. The quintet that Dolphy has assembled, although not nearly as famous as the Coltrane or Davis bands from the sixties, works wonderfully together. The rhythm section of Richard Davis, Ed Blackwell, and Mal Waldron work together beautifully, even if without show. Davis has always been a rather reserved yet lyrical bassist and his style is well shown here. Waldron tends to build solos around simple chordal patterns and then play with different harmonic sequences and rhythmic changes around those patterns. His playing is quite like on his own album of the same time "The Quest," although without the darkness of tone. Here, he is given ample free space and provides a nice finish to the solos of Little and Dolphy. Booker Little, in his early twenties, was a rising star at the time of the recording. He plays with both deft technique and mature confidence and provides a nice counterpart to the virtuoso Dolphy. Dolphy shows the same great technique as he did with COltrane at about the same. He seems well suited to this setting and takes quite long solos, always building around a theme while also showcasing his wondrous talents. While not as avant guard as some of his later recording, this certianly show the talent that he was. Overall, this is a great CD that should on the shelf of any Dolphy fan. Little died soon after this recording and so it is one of the select few out there with him on it. The only negative of the CD is that it has very poor sound quality. However, this is but a small criticism for an otherwise first rate album.

Average customer rating:

Live at the Five Spot
Spirit of Life Ensemble
Manufacturer: Rise Up
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Bebop General | Bebop | Jazz | Styles | Music

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

Modern Postbebop | Jazz | Styles | Music

Bebop & Post-Bop | Compilations | Jazz | Styles | Music

General | Live Albums | Jazz | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000005R1H
Release Date: 1995-12-12

Tracks:

Caravan
Be Natural
African Flame
Through the Rain [Instrumental]
Good Vibes at the 21th Cirlce
Nature Boy
Sophisticated Lady
Bill's Bossa
Moanin'

Average customer rating:

Live at the Five Spot
Charles McPherson
Manufacturer: Prestige
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Bebop General | Bebop | Jazz | Styles | Music

Hard Bop | Bebop | Jazz | Styles | Music

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

General | Live Albums | Jazz | Styles | Music
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Con Alma
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ASIN: B000000ZE6
Release Date: 1994-05-09

Tracks:

The Viper
I Can't Get Started
Shaw 'Nuff
Here's That Rainy Day
Never Let Me Go
Suddenly
I Believe In You
Epistrophy
Luminescence

Average customer rating:

Big Band Recorded Live At The Five Spot

ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
ASIN: B0009RPCGG

Album Description

Import reissue of the classic 1975 live big band date for Muse featuring Burt Collins, Harvie Swartz, Sam Brown, Jimmy Madison and others.

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